Facebook appoints former Hotstar exec Ajit Mohan as India MD & VP

Social media giant Facebook said Monday it has appointed former Hotstar executive Ajit Mohan as Vice-President and Managing Director of its India operations.

In this newly created role of Managing Director for India, a VP-level role, Mohan will be responsible for aligning teams and driving Facebook's overall strategy in India, the US-based company said in a statement.

This is a new structure for Facebook India, where the senior leader reports into the headquarters at Menlo Park, the US, instead of Asia Pacific.

Mohan, who will join Facebook India early next year, will also be responsible for Facebook's India strategy and for driving the company's continued investment in India, the statement said.

"India is one of the largest and most strategically important countries for Facebook. As we think about what it will take to achieve our mission of bringing people together and building community, we know that investment in India is critical," Facebook Vice-President (Business and Marketing Partnerships) David Fischer said.

He added that Mohan's depth of experience will help the company in its engagement with "communities, organisations, businesses and with policy makers".

Mohan joins Facebook from streaming platform Hotstar, where he was the CEO.

"It is a unique opportunity to shape the agenda of a company that has brought the world closer together in one of the most exciting markets in the world. I look forward to championing India in Facebook and working with stakeholders across the spectrum to help build deep and meaningful communities across the country," Mohan said.

In October last year, Umang Bedi had stepped down from the India managing director position and Sandeep Bhushan was named as the interim managing director. Since then, the company has restructured operations in India.